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The island that will feature greater longevity
BY
JOAQUIN ORAMAS
CUBA is and will be an
appropriate country for reaching the age of 120 with
satisfactory longevity.
With this affirmation,
Professor Eugenio Selman, president of the Caribbean
Medical Association, begins a dialogue on the real
possibilities of attaining important collective
scientific achievements that require many economic,
social and even political elements.
Selman affirmed that as far
as he knew, no other country on the planet is
actively working on the six necessary conditions for
a person to attain a quality long life. These are
motivation, nutrition, health, physical activity,
culture and care for the environment.
And of course, there is no
place like the island that can look to a future with
many inhabitants aged 120 or over, Selman said. He
then explained what Cuba is doing to achieve those
requirements.
As far as motivation is
concerned, this involves multiple aspects, beginning
with the particular ones of each individual,
according to his or her occupation, special desires
and even age, he explained.
In that respect, in Cuba,
people have the opportunity of free schooling from
pre-school to university or technical careers, in an
environment propitious for the development of the
arts and literature, given that every province has a
school with options for developing these talents
completely free of charge.
In addition, sports schools
are available, and students are now studying to be
experts in computers and other fields, also free of
charge.
He also cites the adult
education departments throughout the country, where
people may take courses according to their interests.
At the same time, there are
hundreds of senior citizen centers, where they may
participate in physical exercise sessions and
excursions to recreation centers, museums and
historical sites.
Conditions are being created
so that instead of staying at home waiting to die,
retirees have increased recreational options for
staying active, whether through the senior centers
or other social and cultural activities, Selman
noted.
It is precisely Cuba that is
one of the few countries where there are trade
unions for retirees that keep them closely linked to
their workplaces, where many of them lend their
valuable advice. They also take part in union
recreational and other activities.
One example is the
innovators’ movement, which creates or restores
spare parts or even machinery to substitute for
those that cannot be imported because of the U.S.
blockade of Cuba. It is a motivation for active and
retired workers, who every year recuperate or
restore hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment
in practically every industry.
Others have the opportunity
to help out in mass organizations and institutions,
according to their abilities.
In Cuba, there are infinite
motivations for living actively as a way of
prolonging life, with the aim of reaching the age of
120 with quality.
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